Perfect Score No More

[READER]( Perhaps you saw [the news that Citizen Kane's perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes is no more](. What tarnished the iconic film's perfect ranking on a site that distills trenchant, immersive critiques (and terribly written reviews) into a binary reaction that can be aggregated into a score? A Chicago Tribune review that originally ran when the movie swept through theaters in 1941, which Rotten Tomatoes review curation manager Tim Ryan recently uploaded along with a host of other vintage Tribune reviews. I don't particularly care for Rotten Tomatoes. About a decade ago, Reader film critic [J.R. Jones wrote an incisive, blunt retort]( to the type of toxic fanaticism the website's one-dimensional rankings can incur; his review of the 2011 Muppets reboot was one of three that prevented the movie from achieving perfection on a website that, again, boils the art of film criticism down to an aggregate number. I'm sort of interested in the bugs of a site that encourages stans to view the movies they love as athletes in an unyielding competition no one involved signed up to participate in. I'm even more interested in the history of the person behind the Tribune review: Mae Tinee. It's a pseudonym used by several Tribune critics, and it was first employed by Frances Peck Grover in 1914 [according to the Women Film Pioneers Project](. Northwestern University has Grover's papers in its library's [Special Collections](. My feelings of Rotten Tomatoes aside, I'm glad the Citizen Kane update brought me to Grover's archive (or the web listing of the material anyway). I got my second COVID-19 vaccination on Monday, and I've already begun dreaming of returning to in-person archival research, wondering of all the crumbs of history I may find in the near future. I still lose track of time combing through digital archives too, and more often than not I wind up digging through the Reader's extensive catalog of stories. I took a precautionary day off to recover from my second vaccine shot and spent part of that time watching Hulu's new docu-series Sasquatch. Intrepid investigative journalist David Holthouse is the central character here, and on a brief search of his work I found [a 1999 Reader feature he wrote about the Meat Puppets](. And I can't wait to return to the Reader offices to gaze at the print version. Sincerely, ["Emo rising stars Origami Angel discuss the ambitious double album they're about to unleash on their highly enthusiastic fan base,"]( by Ian Cohen (Stereogum) ["Shock G of Digital Underground was a psychedelic rap pioneer who helped hip-hop crossover,"]( by Jeff Weiss (Washington Post) ["Future Of Project Logan Still Uncertain With Graffiti Wall Founders, Developers At Odds,"]( by Mina Bloom (Block Club) Dotaki + P-Tree, [P-RAPS]( Plague Skater, [Plague Skater II]( Interplanetary Criminal, [In My Arms EP]( Mong Tong 夢東, [台灣謎景 Music From Taiwan Mystery]( [GOSSIP WOLF:]( Woods raises funds to capture ten years of songwriting in the studio]( Plus: Fulton Street Collective hosts an exhibit of photos by four jazz musicians, and underground Chicago hip-hop veterans Pseudo Slang collaborate with German producer Pawcut. By [J.R. Nelson]( [@JR1Nelson]( and [Leor Galil]( [@imLeor]( [Mia Joy is singing the dream]( Three years of careful incubation have turned her debut album, Spirit Tamer, into a place of solace that welcomes anyone who listens. By [Leor Galil]( [@imLeor]( [Is this library politics?]( A new building filled with social service and education amenities at Altgeld Gardens is a test case for the limits of design and architecture. By [Zach Mortice]( [@zachmortice]( [Heather Chrisler emerges from the COVID 'tsunami' as a triple threat]( After a year of heartbreak, the Chicago performer is back to acting, as well as writing and illustrating. By [Catey Sullivan]( [@CateySullivan]( [Class is in session with The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop]( Felicia Rose Chavez’s book challenges how educational institutions support people of color—and provides a blueprint to be better. By [Darshita Jain]( [@djain3]( [Issue of April 5 - 28, 2021 Vol. 50, No. 15]( [Download Issue]( (PDF) 1971 Chicagoans have relied on the Reader for trusted alternative coverage of our city. The Chicago Reader is now a 501c3 nonprofit organization which means our survival is in your hands. In order to continue to be your trusted alternative voice of Chicago, we need your help. If you can donate just $5 today, we can show the world that community funded, independent journalism is the future. [DONATE TODAY!]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2021 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. 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